Let's Take It Back
by QuietLittleVoices
Summary: Dean and Cas have been best friends since high school, and in love for just as long. Neither knew the other felt the same until some comments made my classmates at their 15-year reunion.


"Why did I have to come?" Cas muttered as they walked into the high school gymnasium.

"Because I wasn't about to come here alone," Dean retorted, looking at a banner that read _Welcome Back, Class of 1999! _in the garish school colours of orange and blue.

Cas had looked like he wanted to bolt from the moment they set foot in the familiar room. "I spent the four worst years of my life here," Cas reminded him. "Coming back wasn't exactly something I'd ever planned on."

Before Dean could reply, a petite blonde hopped in front of them excitedly. "Hi! Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak, right? It's Rebecca Rosen. Remember me?"

Dean smiled. "Of _course_ I remember you!" he lied. "How've you been?"

"I've been _great_," she told him enthusiastically. "I started a publishing company and have really been doing well with it."

"That's great, Becky," Cas said politely. "I think Dean and I are going to say hi to some of our other classmates now, okay?"

Her eyes widened. "Are you and Dean – " she made a hand motion between the two of them, universally acknowledged as meaning 'together'.

"No," Cas told her with a quick shake of his head. "What would make you think that, anyway?"

"Yeah," Dean added with a laugh. "Cas was voted 'most likely to succeed'. Why would he be with a guy like me?"

"You mean you really aren't together?" she asked. "Because, you know, back in high school, we always thought…."

"That's enough," Cas said, more firmly than he'd intended. "Let's go find some of our friends, Dean. It was nice seeing you again, Becky." He reached over and grabbed Dean's sleeve and pulled him along.

Dean looked at him, confused. "Dude, what was that?"

Cas shrugged. "Nothing. Just… frustrated. I'd like this evening to be over as soon as possible."

After a moment of studying his best friends face, Dean nodded. "Okay."

Within a minute they were stopped again by a leggy brunette. "Dean!" she called happily, walking over to him and Cas.

"Lisa?"

She smiled. "You're looking good! Ageing like fine wine."

Dean laughed. "You look… amazing," he told her. Lisa smiled and shook her head, but Dean spoke up again. "No, seriously; life's treating you good."

"I got married, had a kid… really settled down," she said. "What about you, are you and Cas – "

"Cas and me aren't together, why does everyone think that?" Dean blurted, frustrated.

Lisa gave him a confused look. "I broke up with you because you were so clearly in love with him. You're overcompensation with the muscle car – do you still drive that, by the way? – and the leather jacket and the _posturing_. It was so painful to watch, Dean. Honestly you would have done so many girls a favour if you'd just owned up to the fact that you wanted your best friend more than you wanted any of us."

Dean laughed nervously. "Oh-kay, this conversation is done now. Nice seeing you again, Lisa." He turned quickly, pulling Cas with him. "I'm ready to go now," he muttered.

"No, we're not going yet," Cas interjected. "Not until you tell me what Lisa meant."

Dean shifted, embarrassed. "It was fifteen years ago, Cas; it doesn't matter now."

"What did she mean about you being in love with me?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, man." The lie was so thin that anyone could have seen through it. Cas raised an eyebrow, incredulous.

"Don't lie to me, Dean."

Dean sighed. "I – I might've had a bit of a crush on you," he admitted, and then added quickly, "in high school."

Cas nodded slowly. "In high school," he said, swallowing roughly. "Okay. Well… we can go now. If you still want to."

"Let's get out of here," Dean agreed. They walked out of the gym and into the parking lot, making a beeline for Dean's old impala.

They sat in silence for a minute, unmoving. "Why aren't we going anywhere, Dean?" Cas asked, looking over at his friend.

"About in the gym," Dean started. "I'm sorry if that was weird. It was high school, though, Cas; I don't wanna lose our friendship over that. I – I don't know what I'd do without you, man."

Cas smiled sadly. "It wasn't that you liked me in high school, Dean. I'm fine, I promise."

Dean looked at him sternly. "Oh no, you made me fess up in there; no way am I driving this car 'til you tell me the truth. What's bugging you?"

The blue eyed man shifted in his seat and looked away from Dean. "The part that bothered me was that it was past tense, okay? You liked me _in high school_, full stop. Not anymore." His lips twitched into the ghost of a smile. "But I've been in love with you since we were fourteen."

"You – you love me?"

Cas nodded but said nothing, looking out the window resolutely until he felt a hand on his face, moving him so he was facing Dean, who was smiling wide now.

"That's really great, Cas," he murmured, leaning in. Before Cas could respond, Dean was pressing their mouths together. Cas melted into the kiss and pushed back until he was straddling Dean's thighs in the front seat of the car.

When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together, breathing deeply. "Please tell me right now if you only kissed me because you pity me, Dean, because I don't think I'll survive if I get this and it's not real."

Dean looked at him, appalled. "Do you really think I'd do that to you, Cas? You're my best friend. Even if I _wasn't_ in love with you, I'd never do something like that to you."

"You love me?" Cas asked, trying and failing to keep the smile off his face.

"Of course I do; why wouldn't I? I never told you 'cause I never thought…" he sighed, looking into Cas' blue eyes softly. "I never thought you could ever feel the same. I was never smart or academic or any of those things."

Cas smacked his arm lightly. "Never say those things about yourself, Dean. You _are_ smart, and amazing, and _attractive_…"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Dean said. "You think I'm all that and a bag of chips." He blushed. "You know, I think you're pretty great, too."

"I know." Cas grinned. "I love you. I should have told you in high school but I was so _scared_ of losing you that I just couldn't."

Dean leaned up and kissed him again, softer this time. "I love you, too, Cas; always have." As they started to kiss again, Dean pulled back and added, "But do you think we could move this to the apartment? I don't really want our first time to be in the front seat of my car during our high school reunion."

"Yeah, we can do that."

They showed up to the twenty year reunion hand-in-hand, matching gold bands on their fingers. No one was surprised.


End file.
